NYC Best Bites

Dos Caminos, Theatre District, NYC + Take Me Out

We chose Dos Caminos as it was close to the Helen Hayes theater where we were heading to see "Take Me Out," about the personal and professional complexities of baseball, America’s favorite pastime starring Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), and Patrick J. Adams (Suits). I started with their "El Camino" margarita ($14) made with only Milagro Blanco tequila,  Triple Sec and lime juice. We both had their eggs rancheros requesting them poached instead of fried ($18) along with crisp tortillas, beans, smoked ham and queso fresco.  My first bite indicated that they had pre-plated the food as the beans were at room temperature. With my second [...]

By |2022-05-08T09:18:30-04:00April 28th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Bryant Park Grill, Midtown, NYC + Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures

Eighteen of our ex.expat group stopped at Bryant Park Grill for lunch before our two private docent-led tours at the New York Public library. They set up a large table near the rear of the restaurant with the park as our backdrop. To ease the often chaos at the payment of the bill for a large group, we requested one bill for every four diners. They happily accommodated. They also delivered all of our food at the same time. Impressive. Some of the tasty meals included their Tuscan tomato & white bean with shaved parmesan cheese, toasted croutons, dill & truffle oil ($11.50); wild mushroom ravioli with a grilled artichoke, [...]

By |2022-04-23T11:00:33-04:00April 23rd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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A Return to Jane, Soho, NYC + Out of Time

After my last visit to Jane restaurant in SoHo, I received an email from Olivia, their Assistant General Manager, who provided me with her personal reservation link. Saying, "That way I can make sure you are being extra well taken care of." Interesting personal-touch marketing, I thought. When I was heading with some friends to see Out of Time — a collection of monologues by five award-winning Asian American playwrights, performed by actors all over the age of 60 — at The Public, I decided to book Jane restaurant using Olivia's link. We arrived during happy hour with two of us ordering HH drinks, the Vinho Verde ($7) and Negroni [...]

By |2022-04-23T11:18:58-04:00April 17th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Sweetbriar x 2, Kips Bay, NYC

Sweetbriar in the Park South Hotel had been on our radar to meet for dinner since it opened in April as we wanted to again eat  Chef Bryce Shuman's upscale comfort food. Bryce hailed from Betony and Eleven Madison Park, where he garnered three stars from the New York Times, One Michelin Star and was named 2015 Food and Wine Magazine "Best New Chef." That and he is a friend of my dining partner. Bryce includes many of his hit menu items from his popular pandemic barbecue pop-up Ribs n Riesling. With sweetbriar focused on live-fire cooking of their seasonal veggies and meats, I thought it fitting to sample their [...]

By |2022-04-25T11:27:09-04:00April 13th, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Piccolo Cucina, Upper East Side, NYC

A group of us who had been on a Les Dames d'Escoffier International culinary trip to Italy met for dinner at Piccolo Cucina on the Upper East Side.  Marisa May had selected Piccolo Cucina because Matteo Bergamini —  former chef at both San Domenico NY and SD26 — was this Italian restaurant's Executive Chef. NB: Sadly Tony May, Marisa's dad who was also at the dinner, died last week. As we were sipping our drinks, our waiter placed the Italian bread and dips on the table for nibbling. We then shared their frito misto ($21.95) with a variety of fried fish and vegetables, their eponymous salad ($17.95) with baby spinach, [...]

By |2022-04-09T18:22:00-04:00April 9th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews|3 Comments
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The Peruvian Restaurant Inti, Hells Kitchen, NYC + Space Dogs

We stopped into Inti, a Peruvian restaurant, on our way to the far west location of MCC Theatre to see the new musical Space Dogs about the canines that were sent into space. We decided to share the classic Banquete Inti ($43) that consisted of a tender rotisserie whole chicken, French fries, fried plantain, rice, beans and a green salad topped with avocado and sliced tomatoes. Cilantro sauce and peanuts also came with the meal. It was way too much food for the two of us! We did, though, decide to try their picarones for dessert. We were glad we did. These traditional Peruvian doughnuts — made with squash and sweet [...]

By |2022-04-09T18:22:11-04:00April 7th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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New Handcrafted Cocktails and Bar Bites at Fogo de Chão, Midtown, NYC

This time my visit to Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian steakhouse, in Midtown was for a press event to introduce their new bar bites and cocktails. The culinary art of churrasco and the fresh, seasonal ingredients found on their Market Table inspired these new menu items. While we sipped the new cocktails, the staff passed their new bar bites.  We sat at the bar with Hugo, our friendly bartender making these new cocktails. My favorite was the Samba Squeeze Martini made with Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka, St- Germain, blood orange and guava. The other new ones include: Desert Rose: Patron Silver, Aperol, lime and aquafaba, garnished with angostura bitters [...]

By |2022-07-07T14:07:03-04:00April 5th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Tri Dim Shanghai, Upper East Side, NYC + Private Met Tour

Lucky us. We were able to arrange a private tour of the Asia Art Galleries at the Met with Joe Scheier-Dolberg associate curator of Chinese paintings and Pengliang Lu associate curator of Chinese Decorative Arts on a day the museum was closed. In keeping with the Asian theme, we decided to lunch at Tri Dim Shanghai, an Upper East Side Chinese restaurant. My table ordered several dim sum to share including their crispy shrimp balls ($12 for 6) and Peking duck roll ($12), the steamed chicken dumplings ($12 for 5) and their classic crab and pork soup dumplings ($12 for 6). The latter were served with a warning not to [...]

By |2022-04-09T18:11:21-04:00April 3rd, 2022|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Village Taverna Greek Grill, Union Square, NYC

My friend chose Village Taverna Greek Grill, an airy inviting restaurant in our hood, as the place she wanted her birthday lunch. She had frequented this friendly Greek restaurant many times. It was my first experience. I had their keftedakia kokinista ($14.95), that's four flat beef meatballs made with ouzo, herbs and spices then baked in a tomato-mint sauce topped with crumbled with feta cheese. My friend chose the bifteki yemisto from their Psita —"from the grill" — menu. Hers included two char-grilled Greek seasoned burgers along with a salad and fries ($21.95). I had arranged for them to sing to her after I convinced  her to have dessert. Didn't [...]

By |2022-04-09T17:52:40-04:00March 30th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|2 Comments
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A Light Bite at Olio e Più, West Village, NYC

My friend was in the city to see her hairdresser before her son's upcoming wedding. We were able to meet for a quick nibble so I could hear about the plans. We met at Olio e Più near her beauty parlor for our rendezvous.  With the upcoming nuptials, my friend wanted to sit outside with the windows of their shack open. They happily accommodated as it was an unseasonably warm day. We split three items from their "carne e formaggio" ($27), selecting the thin slices of prosciutto di parma, runny imported Italian burrata and a slice of Humboldt Fog, one of Bite of the Best's favorite US cheeses.  That and [...]

By |2022-03-26T10:20:21-04:00March 26th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Haven Rooftop, Midtown, NYC + The Music Man

Haven Rooftop, a lively eatery located on top of the Sanctuary Hotel in the heart of the theatre district, was the perfect spot for brunch before heading up Broadway a few blocks to see the not-to-be-missed The Music Man.  Always arriving early and my friends often a tad late, I had time to notice what other tables were enjoying and asked if they minded me photographing their food. Consistent with this place's warm friendly vibe, everyone was amenable. These included the brunch pizza ($19) topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, diced bacon then sunny-side-up eggs; the scrambled egg version of the huevos rancheros ($18) with crisp corn tortilla atop black beans [...]

By |2024-07-21T11:05:06-04:00March 24th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rooftop, Theatre|0 Comments
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Faces and Names, Midtown West, NYC + Prayer For the French Republic 

We stopped at Faces and Names, a contemporary pub serving sandwiches & bar food, for a bite before heading to City Center around the corner to see a Prayer For the French Republic, a play that friends raved about. We were seated in the cozy back room, replete with couches in front of a fireplace and TVs.  My friend went retro with a Tito's Cosmo, I  had an Old Fashioned. We then shared their Buffalo chicken salad ($16) with chopped romaine, sliced cucumbers, crisp apple slices, grape tomatoes and walnuts topped with warm, moist, well-seasoned chicken breast cut into strips. I highly recommend. Also good is their Cubano sandwich ($16) with [...]

By |2022-03-26T10:28:35-04:00March 19th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling, Theatre|0 Comments
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Amata, Midtown, NYC + Carlton Fine Arts

COVID had kept us apart, so we had lots of catching up to do, including a belated birthday celebration. Before dinner at Amata, we met at the Carlton Fine Arts gallery on Madison to see their Pop Art Festival, having read about it in a friend's real estate newsletter. We headed west to Amata being the first seated in the dining room at this midtown Italian restaurant serving Neapolitan fare. We started with cocktails, my friends each having their Le Grand Fizz ($17) with Grey Goose Poire and St. Germain liqueur and I had their Old Fashioned ($17). We then split their white salad with endive, artichoke hearts, hearts of [...]

By |2022-03-28T18:12:42-04:00March 16th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Other happenings|0 Comments
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Hearth, East Village, NYC

It had been decades since I had been to Hearth, Chef Marco Canora's market-driven upscale Tuscan-American restaurant on the lower east side. My eldest son took me there for my birthday when he was living and working in the city. My dining partner has recently had her birthday celebration there and it was so good, she wanted to return. The bartender happily filled her request for the specialty cocktail they had created for her party.  The "I Can't Feel My (Scar)fazzi" combines Tito's, Amaretto and Cappelletti, a bitter, sweet, herbal wine-base aperitif.  I sipped their Old Fashioned made with Doc Swinson's rum cask bourbon ($18, each). To start, my friend [...]

By |2022-03-12T09:03:49-05:00March 11th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Great Thai Food at Thai Diner, NoLita, NYC

I'd been hearing and reading accolades about Thai Diner, the more casual offshoot of the highly acclaimed Uncle Boons that shut down during the pandemic. We had heard that it's always packed so decided to go at an off time, late afternoon. Laughing that our timing might be coined as the new early-bird dining! The restaurant on the corner of Kenmare and Mott was not packed so we were immediately seated in one of the tiny but  comfy booths. When we ordered, we requested that each item be served separately. They gladly obliged.  That's another reason to dine at an off-hour! We started with an order of the shrimp-paste coated [...]

By |2022-01-31T15:49:03-05:00March 8th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Revisit Marseille, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + NYC version of Company

I've always enjoyed going to brunch at Marseille in Hell's Kitchen before theatre. Service and food are generally good and the location is close to many theatres. It was only a five-minute walk to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre where we were seeing a matinee performance of Company.    We skipped the "go bottomless" drinks of $21 for 90 minutes along with food that's available 12 to 3 pm as we were off to theatre. Instead, I sampled their purportedly spicy, Moroccan Bloody made with Absolut Peppar vodka, cumin, fennel cardamom and harissa ($12) that was tasty, yet didn't have much of a kick. My dining partner had their Le [...]

By |2022-02-22T13:40:40-05:00March 4th, 2022|NYC Best Bites, Theatre|0 Comments
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The New Comodo, Freehand Hotel, Flatiron, NYC

Comodo, formerly of Soho, is the new Latin American restaurant in the Simon and The Whale space in the Freehand Hotel. Met a friend there recently, starting with cocktails.  I sampled their Martina #2 ($17) made with Mezcal, Raicilla (a distilled agave spirit similar to Mezcal and tequila) with lime and orange juices and a bit of olive brine, served up like a martini. Instead of one of the specialty ones, my friend asked for a Tito vodka-martini but settled on Grey Goose as the bar doesn't carry the Texas type. My friend began with their East Coast oysters with yuzu mignonette (6 for $21), I with their pan-seared shrimp al [...]

By |2023-08-26T12:10:18-04:00February 28th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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A Messy but Fun Meal at the Boil, NoHo, NYC

Arriving during their happy hour, we first requested a few items from that menu. My dining partner began with their plump happy hour oysters ($7.50 for 6). We shared the fried calamari ($8) and added their Cajun fries ($7). Silly us. We could — and should — have stopped there, but had already ordered the main event. The Boil's menu reminded me of a fun, messy visit to Hell's Kitchen's Aqua Boil. First we selected our catch, then picked a sauce and heat level. My friend picked the head-on shrimp Boil special with a garlic-butter Cajun blend at a medium spice level; I chose the headless shrimp with the same [...]

By |2022-03-12T08:45:56-05:00February 26th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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Auntie Guan’s Kitchen, Chelsea, NYC

A trip to Auntie Guans Kitchen on 14th Street just south of Sixth Avenue seemed prudent on a single-digit night. This restaurant specializes in the regional cooking of northeast China, or Dongbei. It's known for northeastern Chinese handmade noodles, dumplings and pancakes. We started with their steamed lamb dumplings (6 pieces $6.99) that were made to order. The lamb was flavorful; I found the noodle wrapped too thick for me. I prefer a more delicate one. Don't miss their scallion pancake (4 pieces $12.99). My dining partner prefers that filled with lamb. Since we ordered that type of meat dumpling, we opted for the spicy chicken wrapped inside the pancake [...]

By |2022-01-20T11:44:33-05:00February 21st, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews|0 Comments
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Brunch at Jane, Soho, NYC

The last time I was at Jane's, was a decade ago when Urbanspoon still existed. That restaurant information and recommendation service lasted a decade before being gobbled up by the India-based Zomato, now-defunct in the US. So much in our world has changed other than I still recommend a visit to this casual American bistro located on the edge of Greenwich Village and Soho. This time, I returned for a delightful brunch with attentive service. We started with what they call their "The Best Bloody Mary" ($14 regular, $5 virgin) made with their secret recipe. To me, it was a decent cocktail but certainly not the best! My friend ordered [...]

By |2022-01-11T13:36:56-05:00February 18th, 2022|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Rambling|0 Comments
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